Bleak House

Bleak House

by

Charles Dickens

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Bleak House makes teaching easy.

Mr. Tulkinghorn Character Analysis

Mr. Tulkinghorn is Sir Leicester Dedlock’s lawyer. He holds a grudge against Sir Leicester’s wife, Lady Dedlock, whom he suspects is not truly of noble birth. Mr. Tulkinghorn specializes in working with wealthy clients, and he consequently is privy to the secrets of many rich and powerful people. A cruel, merciless individual, Mr. Tulkinghorn sadistically delights in having power over others; he loves to collect secrets, as this gives him social currency and power over the upper classes, who are his superiors and employers. Mr. Tulkinghorn despises the gentry, but he also despises members of the lower classes, such as Lady Dedlock, whom he views as a social climber because she married into wealth. He is associated with a rat and a crow throughout the novel, suggesting that he is an unpleasant and sinister man. He disguises his cruel motives under a veneer of respectability and discretion. Sir Leicester trusts Mr. Tulkinghorn completely and thus never suspects his cruelty to Lady Dedlock, whom he tries to blackmail when he discovers that she had an illegitimate child (Esther) before her marriage. Mr. Tulkinghorn is a bully and a coward underneath, however, and uses his connections in the legal system to protect himself. He is very afraid of George—a soldier who comes to him about an outstanding debt—and threatens Mademoiselle Hortense with prison before she has committed a crime. Despite his respectable façade, he is not a noble man and will work with clients who are deeply corrupt, like the debt collector Mr. Smallweed, if this gets Mr. Tulkinghorn his own way. He is extremely good at manipulating people and often persuades people to act for him so that he can evade responsibility for these actions. In spite of himself, Mr. Tulkinghorn admires Lady Dedlock because she meets his cool façade with an equally stoic one when he threatens to reveal her secret. At the end of the novel, Mademoiselle Hortense, who wishes to frame Lady Dedlock, murders Mr. Tulkinghorn.

Mr. Tulkinghorn Quotes in Bleak House

The Bleak House quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Tulkinghorn or refer to Mr. Tulkinghorn. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Social Mobility, Class, and Lineage Theme Icon
).
Chapter 36 Quotes

‘I dread one person very much.’
‘An enemy?’
‘Not a friend. One who is too passionless to be either. He is Sir Leicester Dedlock’s lawyer; mechanically faithful without attachment, and very jealous of the profit, privilege, and reputation of being master of the mysteries of great houses.’

Related Characters: Esther Summerson (speaker), Lady Dedlock (speaker), Sir Leicester Dedlock, Mr. Tulkinghorn, Captain Hawdon / Nemo
Related Symbols: Houses
Page Number: 437
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 54 Quotes

Heaven knows what he sees. The green, green woods of Chesney Wold, the noble house, the pictures of his forefathers, strangers defacing them, officers of police coarsely handling his most precious heirlooms, thousands of fingers pointing at him, thousands of faces sneering at him. But if such shadows flit before him to his bewilderment, there is one other shadow which he can name with something like distinctness even yet, and to which alone he addresses his tearing of his white hair, and his extended arms.

Related Characters: Lady Dedlock, Sir Leicester Dedlock, Mr. Tulkinghorn, Mr. Bucket, Mademoiselle Hortense
Related Symbols: Houses
Page Number: 629-630
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Bleak House LitChart as a printable PDF.
Bleak House PDF

Mr. Tulkinghorn Quotes in Bleak House

The Bleak House quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Tulkinghorn or refer to Mr. Tulkinghorn. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Social Mobility, Class, and Lineage Theme Icon
).
Chapter 36 Quotes

‘I dread one person very much.’
‘An enemy?’
‘Not a friend. One who is too passionless to be either. He is Sir Leicester Dedlock’s lawyer; mechanically faithful without attachment, and very jealous of the profit, privilege, and reputation of being master of the mysteries of great houses.’

Related Characters: Esther Summerson (speaker), Lady Dedlock (speaker), Sir Leicester Dedlock, Mr. Tulkinghorn, Captain Hawdon / Nemo
Related Symbols: Houses
Page Number: 437
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 54 Quotes

Heaven knows what he sees. The green, green woods of Chesney Wold, the noble house, the pictures of his forefathers, strangers defacing them, officers of police coarsely handling his most precious heirlooms, thousands of fingers pointing at him, thousands of faces sneering at him. But if such shadows flit before him to his bewilderment, there is one other shadow which he can name with something like distinctness even yet, and to which alone he addresses his tearing of his white hair, and his extended arms.

Related Characters: Lady Dedlock, Sir Leicester Dedlock, Mr. Tulkinghorn, Mr. Bucket, Mademoiselle Hortense
Related Symbols: Houses
Page Number: 629-630
Explanation and Analysis: